Gabe Watson, who was acquitted of murdering his wife on honeymoon and making it look like a scuba diving accident, said his strange behaviour in the weeks following her death was part of his grieving process.

The murder case against Mr Watson, 34, was dropped last week after Circuit Judge Tommy Nail cited a lack of evidence at the court in Birmingham, Alabama.

The prosecution said the case was weakened by some of the judge's decisions to keep their evidence from the jury. This included surveillance footage of Mr Watson at his wife Tina's grave using bolt cutters to remove flowers chained to the memorial by her family.

Acquitted: Gabe Watson, 34, spoke for the first time about his bizarre actions following his wife's death in a scuba diving accident in 2003

Happiness: Gabe and Tina Watson on their wedding day in 2003 - 11 days before Mrs Watson drowned during a honeymoon diving trip

He told ABC: 'It definitely wasn't my finest hour...I (had) just been accused of murder... I
was still dealing with the death of Tina. I wasn't thinking clearly on
everything that I did.'

He added that he had removed the flowers because his late wife, Tina Thomas Watson, would not have wanted the arrangement because they were plastic and not fresh flowers.

Her family said they chained the flowers to the grave because Mr Watson had removed tributes in the past.

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Gabe Watson had been accused of turning off his
wife's air supply when they went scuba diving on their honeymoon in Australia and trying to cash in on her death. The 34-year-old had faced a sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of murdering his wife in 2003.

Mr Watson had already served 18
months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to a
manslaughter charge involving negligence.

In the interview with 20/20 this week he explained:'I pled guilty to... basically not rendering the proper aid, not saving my dive buddy.'

Scuba: This photograph, showing Mrs Watson lying dead in the background, was presented as evidence

Acquitted: Gabe Watson has walked free after a case accusing him of murdering his wife Tina was thrown out by a judge on the grounds that the prosecution had presented insufficient grounds for conviction

During the two-week trial, the defence brought witnesses to testify to Mr Watson's strange behaviour following the death of his wife.

Tina Watson's best friend and maid-of-honour Amanda Phillips told the court that when she and Gabe viewed her friend's body in the coffin, he commented: 'At least her breasts look perky.'

'I had just been accused of murder... I
was still dealing with the death of Tina. I wasn't thinking clearly on
everything that I did.'

Gabe Watson

Ms Phillips also testified that at his home after the
service, Mr Watson showed mourners a picture of his late wife next to a sign which read
'Caution: Drowning'.

The newlyweds were in Australia in 2003 on their honeymoon and on the first day of a week-long diving trip off the coast of Queensland when Mrs Watson died.

Judge Nail
agreed with defence arguments that prosecutors failed to show Mr Watson
intentionally killed the woman. The judge said the state's
evidence was 'sorely lacking' and did not prove Mr Watson had any
financial motive.

Prosecutor Don Valeska said he had never
before had a trial end in a judge's acquittal in 41 years of trying
cases.

There were emotional scenes following the verdict. Gabe Watson's
father, David, hugged his son in the courtroom. Mr Watson's second wife Kim also embraced her husband as his late wife's family left the building in shock.

Joy: Mr Watson hugs his new wife Kim soon after being acquitted of killing his first wife Tina

New life: Gabe and Kim Watson, pictured at the end of the trial, married in August 2008

'I'm just so relieved. Hopefully he can put his life back together,' his father David Watson said.

Gabe Watson left the courtroom hand-in-hand with his wife Kim without commenting to reporters.

Tina
Watson's father, Tommy Thomas, had testified earlier in the day. He
described how his family's grief and shock over Tina Watson's death
turned to suspicion of Gabe Watson.

The prosecution called the director of the funeral home which handled Mrs Watson's death to testify that her husband had removed her engagement ring before she was buried.

But Judge Nail then ordered the jury out of the courtroom and proceeded to question the prosecutor's argument that this showed a greed motive in the alleged killing.

'You mean to tell me that [Gabe Watson] bought the engagement ring, married her, he and his family paid for a wedding, he planned and paid for a honeymoon halfway around the world, all so he could kill her to get an engagement ring he bought in the first place?' the judge asked.

Mr Nail's scepticism reflected the increasing fragility of the prosecution argument in the light of the failure to find a convincing motive for the alleged killing so soon after what seemed a harmonious wedding.